France won 2-0 and showed a huge gap in the chances it created

France beat Morocco 2-0 at Gillette Stadium, and the numbers tell the story of a clear difference in attacking weight. The French side did not need to dominate the ball to tilt the match: it generated chances worth 3.1 goals against just 0.1 for Morocco, and then backed it up with goals from Kylian Mbappé in the 60' and Ousmane Dembélé in the 66'.

Tactical reading

Possession was split fairly evenly, with 48% for France and 52% for Morocco. But that slight edge in possession did not translate into depth for the Moroccan side. On the contrary: France was much more dangerous, got forward more often and with more purpose, and that showed in the 21 shots it recorded, with 8 on target, compared with Morocco's 5 shots, only 1 of them on target.

The difference between the two teams also shows up in the way the result was built. France, with the same setup as its opponent, 4-2-3-1, managed to turn a match that was even in possession into one that was very one-sided in the attacking areas. The chances-created figure is the most telling stat of the night: 3.1 for France and 0.1 for Morocco. In football terms, the final scoreline was actually kinder to Morocco than what the French side produced.

Morocco held onto the ball more, but could hardly turn that into dangerous actions. With 1 shot on target in the entire match, its attacking output was very low. France, by contrast, was more direct and more accurate when it entered the opposition half, and that is why the 2-0 ended up being a logical reflection of the game.

The standout performers

The match ratings also backed up France's dominance:

• Ousmane Dembélé (8.9): the outstanding player of the night, and he also sealed the result with the goal in the 66'.
• Kylian Mbappé (7.9): scored France's first goal in the 60' and was among the most influential players.
• Bono (7.6): Morocco's highest-rated player, on a night when his team gave up far fewer chances than the ones created against it.

The highest rating award also helps explain the match: France had its two most decisive forwards among the best-rated names, while Morocco found its top mark in the goalkeeper, a sign that it had more work to do defending than solutions going forward.

The turning point came in the second half, when France broke the match open in a flash. Mbappé scored in the 60' and, just 6 minutes later, Dembélé made it 2-0. That stretch effectively ended any hope of a Moroccan response, which by then had already shown very little in attack.

The final read from the numbers is quite clear: possession that close to even was not enough to balance a match in which France was superior in shots, in chances created and in efficiency. Morocco had more of the ball, but France had far more of the game.